And So It Is

Struggling with the emotional aftermath of her husband’s death, Yvonne takes a sabbatical in an old French Villa. During the return journey to a demanding job, she enters the peace of the well-ordered Letour household only to find her presence creates chaos by arousing hidden emotions in Ricard and others as old, deeply buried wounds are opened. What are the secrets Ricard is hiding that keeps him estranged from his parents and impedes a potentially fulfilling relationship with Yvonne? What is the cause of the recurring dream, Suzanne, his daughter is experiencing? Happiness, joy and laughter are experienced alongside tears, anger and frustrations over the period of a few months as the story travels many times between France with Ricard’s family and England with Yvonne’s as promises, histories, and regrets are unravelled. Two families, each with their own secrets, desires, ambitions, loves and hates try to come to terms with their own issues and hope for a happy outcome. But are all the outcomes beneficial for everyone, or is this a case of sometimes somethings are best left undisturbed?

Penelope Kanaar’s working life has been mainly concerned with nursing, including both acute and elderly care. As a qualified nurse she went into nurse education, where she contributed articles to professional publications. Apart from her nursing career, Penelope has also been a pub land-lady, a village hall caretaker and a kitchen assistant! Other activities in her life have involved volunteering for a “talking newspaper”; Meals on Wheels; Riding for the Disabled and has formerly been a Server in the church she attends. She is an active member of two amateur dramatic groups, and a member of two writing groups, one of which is her local U3A Creative Writing Group.

She writes under her maiden name, having gained the approval of her siblings, one of whom thought their parents would also approve. She has one son, from her first marriage, and two grandchildren. She lives near Brighton, West Sussex.